Inform and Educate About Money

Category: Facts About the UK Currency

Every currency has its own history and most of them have some interesting and even quirky facts. Today, we decided to have a look at our own currency and its weird and wonderful facts. Some will definitely surprise you while others may be less of a surprise.

Million pound and larger notes exist – Yes you read right. There are £1m and £100m pound notes in existence. They will never be seen in public or become part of circulation as they are only used in banks as part of the financial system.

Quid comes from quid pro quo – It is generally accepted that the term quid comes from this famous saying that means ‘what for what’. No-one is exactly sure what it has to do with money, but it stuck and now we use it.

The monarch faces a different direction with each new appointment – The head of the ruling monarch appears on the coins and every time a new monarch takes the throne, they have to change the direction in which they face on the coin.

You can legally burn money – No, it is not illegal to burn money, as long as you destroy it. Defacing money, however, is another thing altogether. You can be fined for defacing money, but you won’t be breaking the law or carry any legal consequences if you burn and destroy money.

We rule at counterfeiting – There are approximately 300 fake notes in every batch of one million sterling notes in the UK. In the US, there is only a 100 out of a million and the Euro is about 50 out of a million. Clearly, the UK rules at counterfeiting.

Paying fines with pennies – It seems that we have a lot of stories about people paying their fines with pennies. However, this may not always be the best course of action as it may not be accepted. There are certain restrictions that apply to smaller sums.

There you have it. Some weird, some wonderful, and some just unbelievable. At least we don’t have a boring currency.